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Matthew 3:13-17

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Grace, mercy, peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

No question about it. John the Baptizer was a bold man. He preached, “Repent,” and that takes guts. John preached the Law in such a way that Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were coming to him, confessing their sins, and being baptized (Mt. 3:5-6).

John, the last of God’s prophets, lived out in the wilderness wearing camel skins and eating locusts and honey. Yet he had the boldness to call even the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious elite, to repentance calling them a brood of vipers.

Jesus called John the Baptizer the greatest of those born of women (Mt. 11:11). Yet, John knew his place. John rightly confessed, “The one coming after me is greater than I am. I am not even worthy to carry His sandals.”

But when Jesus came to John to be baptized, well, John flinched. “Excuse me? You want me to do what? Look, this isn’t right, Jesus. I need to be baptized by You! How can I with my dirty thoughts, my filthy hands, and my unclean heart, how can I baptize You? You should just baptize Yourself.”

In John’s hesitation to baptize Jesus, we see John’s sinful pride rearing its ugly head. If John truly believed that he wasn’t worthy to carry Jesus’ sandals (and he wasn’t), then who does John think he is to question his Lord when Jesus tells John to baptize Him? How dare John say, “Look, Jesus, You’ve got it all wrong”?

We can all sympathize with John because we all shirk and attempt to evade our responsibilities. Too often, we parents don’t want to do the work of raising our children. It is too exhausting. Instead of giving our children discipline, attention, and love, we buy them off with devices to distract them so they will leave us alone and we can amuse ourselves.

As spouses, we do the same. We find all sorts of excuses to get out of serving one another – washing the dishes, changing the bed sheets, and scrubbing around the toilet.

As Christians, we fill our lives with things that are good in and of themselves. But our lives get stuffed by commitments, the tournaments, and the traveling. Something must give, and sadly the easiest thing to put off is being at church, gathering with one another, and hear and rejoicing in God’s Word.

And I can tell you, on good authority, that your pastor does this too. It is all too easy to put off calling someone who is hurting and ministering the Gospel to them under the guise of having too many other things to do. Forgive me.

For all of us, there are ample reasons to repent. Repent, and hear what Jesus says to John. “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

God had called John to baptize Jesus, to anoint Jesus for His work of being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Anyone could have baptized Jesus. The act didn’t require a lot of skill, training, or experience. But God had called John to do it in order to fulfill all righteousness.

In the same way, God gives us tasks, duties, and vocations in His kingdom. It was fitting for Jesus and John together to fulfill all righteousness. And it is fitting for you to do the good works that God has called you to in your vocations.

Now, you have probably heard me use that word ‘vocation’ before, but to define it again is probably helpful. Your vocations are the many different functions you have and are defined by your relationships to others. Parent, spouse, child, neighbor, citizen, student, employee, employer – all of these are vocations. In all your vocations, God gives you good works to do.

If you are a parent, God has given you the good work of feeding, clothing, protecting, and providing for your child(ren). As a citizen, God has given you good works like paying taxes, voting, and coming to a complete stop at stop signs. If you are a customer at a grocery store, God has given you the good work of buying food and not shoplifting by tasting the grapes before you purchase them. Wherever you are, God has called you to a particular vocation where you can be His light shining in this dark world by doing good works.

And God gives you great freedom in these good works. At the risk of sounding sexist: mothers, God commands that you feed your children. But you have the freedom to decide whether to cook a lavish meal of salad, pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions finished off with homemade cheesecake or to simply grab some corn dogs out of the freezer and throw them in the oven. Either way, you have been a faithful mother by providing for your children.

In all our vocations, we remember that we are not worthy to do these good works, but God has called us to them. And in doing them, we join with God to do good in an evil world. Also, in doing them, God gives us the greatest joys.

When you have fed, bathed, swaddled, and finally gotten your infant to sleep, you stand over the crib in joy and peace that God has entrusted that little life to you. When you celebrate with your co-workers after that grueling, month-long project, God is blessing you and them with that happiness and sense of accomplishment. When you lay next to your spouse and fall asleep in their arms, you have comfort and peace of knowing that God has joined to you the bone of our bone and flesh of your flesh.

Will you fail in these vocations? Yes. You will sin and fall short of the calling that God has given you. But always remember, of all the vocations, all the callings which God has given you, the first, the primary, the most unchanging vocation God gives to you is your Baptism.

Abby, on this day of your Baptism, and all of you baptized believers here, remember this. Before anything you are a Baptized child of God. You belong to Him. He has placed His Name upon you. Jesus has joined you to Himself – joined to His death, buried you in His tomb, and raised you in His resurrection.

Where you lack, Jesus provides. Where you fail, Jesus fulfills. God will provide what you need as you carry your cross and follow after Him. You are His child. You belong to Him, and He is well-pleased with you. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

*This sermon was preached on the occasion of the Baptism of Abigail McClintic.